The Edge of Reality
"I walk along a thin line, darling
Dark shadows follow me
Here's where life's dreams lie disillusioned
The edge of reality"
I came up with the idea for the name of this blog while listening to an old Elvis song called "The Edge of Reality." It seemed like a pretty fitting description for much of what we discuss here on the forum, as well as where I feel like I am most of the time.
Those who are interested in unsolved mysteries are walking a thin line, a line between what is real and what is imaginary, the proven and the unproven. When most of society refuses to acknowledge that what we investigate even exists it pushes us even closer to the edge, and sometimes beyond, yet often that is where we must go in order to find the answers that we seek. The truth does not always lie in plain sight or within easy reach. There is not always an open book that we can conveniently use to look up the answers, nor a paved walkway leading us in the right direction. In these cases we must forge our own path.
Great explorers put no limitations on their journeys. They search the unsearched, explore the unexplored...they "boldly go where no man has gone before." This is what makes them great explorers. People who follow the path of least resistance will end up with the rest of the herd, wallowing in laziness and ignorance, while the leaders are out searching for fresh pastures and new horizons. Great discoveries are often made in places nobody else had ever even considered looking, or dared to go...out beyond the edge of knowledge, the edge of imagination...even the edge of sanity.
"I can hear strange voices echo
Laughing with mockery
The borderline of doom I'm facing
The edge of reality"
I first became interested in UFOs and unsolved mysteries because of experiences that I have had in my lifetime. One night about two decades ago I awoke to find a bright light shining down from the darkness and lifting me up out of my bed. It was a shock, to say the least, especially for someone as grounded in scientific reality as I was. Suddenly my world was shattered and I found myself being dragged kicking and screaming into an alternative universe of aliens and UFOs, nightmares and premonitions, Men in Black and paranoid-based conspiracies. Many of these things have defied explanation and made a mockery of conventional wisdom. They have left me overwhelmed with unanswerable questions. In my search to find the truth about what happened I have often been mocked and impugned by those who do not share my quest, yet I refuse to give up. I know the truth is out there somewhere...I just have to keep searching until it is found. It may not be quick, it may not be easy...sometimes it might not even make any sense...but that is no reason to call it off. Improbability is not the same as impossibility.
During my walk along the edge I have discovered that there is a very thin line between normal and abnormal, reality and fantasy. The delineation of that line often depends on the people who are defining it. It sometimes blurs and shifts from one place to another...it can be crossed very easily. Fortunately there is information to be found on either side. Many people come back from the brink, bringing with them a small part of the unknown, a tiny piece of a huge puzzle. By itself it may be meaningless, but added together with all of the other pieces an image starts to form...to take shape and solidify. Like a candle burning in the darkness it lights the way to new discoveries, and with each bit of information the picture becomes clearer, the light burns brighter until it is shining like a beacon leading the way to enlightenment. I think of each bit of knowledge as a piece of that puzzle. The more we learn the clearer the picture will be.
"She drove me to the point of madness
The brink of misery
If she's not real then I'm condemned to
The edge of reality"
Those who have had paranormal experiences are changed in many ways as a result. They have looked over the edge into the abyss and seen something staring back. They have been touched by the unknown and it leaves a hole inside of them that only knowledge can fill...knowledge of that which we can not possibly know. It can be maddeningly frustrating, I know. I have walked the line, fallen over the edge, been swallowed by the darkness...and crawled back out again. Still, I continue my search. Why do I do it? Why do any of us? To learn, to grow, to become whole again. Our contact with the unknown has taken something from us...or serenity...our soul. In order to get it back we must find...something. But what? How can we find what we don't even know we are looking for? Still, we continue to search, groping blindly in the darkness, hoping to stumble over the candle of truth. If we fall we will pick ourselves up and continue onward. At times it is almost like an obsession.
I know I may never find the answers that I seek. I know I may be wasting my time searching, but it is my life and I am the one who has to live it...and I want to know. I need to know what happened to me so long ago. If I never gain enlightenment I will not despair because even after all of these years I still have what it takes to keep going. If there is only one thing that I have gained from all of this, it is hope...the hope that tomorrow will bring a better future. The hope that someday I may find the key to unlock the past...that one final piece of the puzzle that will fall into place and reveal the secrets of this strange universe I find myself in. Until then, I will keep pushing the boundaries of knowledge. I will continue my quest, forever reaching for the stars while planting my feet firmly on the ground...Here at the edge of reality.
